Hawthorne High School’s Student Council held its second annual “Light It Up Blue” Autism Walk on the HHS track on April 2, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

The “Light It Up Blue” Autism Walk was held on April 2 because that is the date that has been deemed as National “Light It Up Blue” day during Autism Awareness Month by Autism Speaks, the world’s leading autism science and advocacy organization. Everyone who attended the walk had to pay a a $5 admission fee. The student council cabinet helped collect the money, and all the proceeds went directly to Team Hawthorne United, a local autism awareness organization.

Despite the cold weather, this year, $880 was raised at the walk, and many HHS students, faculty, and staff showed up in blue apparel to support the cause. This was the second annual “Light It Up Blue” Autism Walk at HHS, and last year $1,000 was raised.

Gustav Schell, a teacher at HHS and a student council advisor, came up with the idea last year to walk the track because, “[As a school], we are always looking for unique ways for students to get involved in causes that directly help others.”

HHS is not the only organization that participated in a “Light It Up Blue” event. According to Yahoo News, on April 2, “More than 7,000 iconic structures and landmarks in 90 countries [shined] a bright blue spotlight on autism, including such landmarks as the Empire State Building and George Washington Bridge in New York City, Niagara Falls in Canada and Burji Al Arabi in Dubia.”

“It’s a small and easy thing to do, and it makes a big difference,” said Michelle Pasquale, senior at HHS. Russo agreed, saying, “I think it is a simple way to raise money that goes directly to people in our community.” Russo also added that the “Light It Up Blue” event is just the beginning. She hopes that the school can do more events for other causes in the future.